The present invention relates to a method of producing compound food products having a surface color pattern and enclosing a food injected inside that is different from the outer part of the product at least in taste, and to a production system used for the method.
Compound food products that provide a plurality of different tastes in one piece are known, such as a chocolate product having an outer chocolate coating and an inner fluid filling material such as liqueur, jam, or chocolate of a taste that is different from the taste of the outer chocolate coating.
Such chocolate products with a filling are produced by known methods such as those shown in FIG. 9 or 10.
In the method shown in FIG. 9, two pre-solidified chocolate members (22, 22xe2x80x2) each having a cavity are arranged with the cavities facing each other, and bonded together by heating to first prepare a bottle-shaped chocolate product having a mouth 23 (see FIG. 9(a)). Then the cavity is filled with or charged with a liqueur or brandy injected through a nozzle 28 of a filling machine or an injection machine 27 (see FIG. 9(b)). Finally, the mouth 23 is closed with chocolate (see FIG. 9(c)).
In this method, pre-solidified chocolate members (22, 22xe2x80x2) are bonded together, so that a seam resulting from the bonding appears on the surface of the final product. Such a seam severely impairs the decorative value of products, in particular those having patterns on their surfaces and having importance attached to their decorativeness, such as products for Christmas or Valentine""s Day.
In the method shown in FIG. 10, a mold with a cavity is charged with a molten chocolate material, shaken, and turned upside down to let the molten material that has not stuck on the cavity surface fall off and be collected. Then the mold is returned to the initial position, the chocolate material stuck on the mold cavity surface is cooled, and a separate fluid filling material as a filling is poured into the chocolate cavity up to the middle and cooled. The molten chocolate material is poured again and scraped off, and the entire body is cooled and solidified to produce a chocolate product with a filling, which is then demolded.
This method includes the step of collecting a portion of the molten chocolate material, which makes the process complicated and onerous, and control of the process is also complicated. Further, since the collected molten material is usually re-used, management thereof also adds complexity.
In manufacture of products, in particular, having a certain color pattern using two or more kinds of molten chocolate materials of different colors, the two or more kinds of materials should be poured into the cavity without mixing with each other completely, in order to make the pattern of resulting products constant. In this method, however, the two or more kinds of molten materials of different colors are completely mixed upon collection, so that the collected materials cannot be re-used.
In order to solve these problems, a method for producing chocolate products with a filling having a color pattern at least on their surface, has been proposed, which does not cause decoration-spoiling seams on the surface, and which does not require collection of molten chocolate materials and its following re-use, as required in the method shown in FIG. 10.
According to this method, predetermined amounts of two or more kinds of molten chocolate materials of different colors are simultaneously poured into the cavity of a mold through nozzles so as not to be mixed up. A fluid filling material as a filling is then poured into the cavity in the middle, while the two or more kinds of molten chocolate materials of different colors in predetermined amounts are poured around the filling. Then only the two or more kinds of molten chocolate materials of different colors are poured again over the top.
In this method, the filling and the molten materials are simultaneously poured through separate nozzles onto the molten materials that has previously been poured into the cavity. As a result, these filling and materials are likely to mix with each other, so that enclosure of the filling in the product is difficult to control and defective products frequently result.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing patterned compound food products that realizes production, by simple control, of patterned compound food products having a surface color pattern, enclosing a food material of a taste different from that of the food material constituting the outer part, and having excellent appearance without seams on their surface; and a production system used for the method.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for producing patterned compound food products that can provide simple control over placement of a fluid filling material inside the products, and that can reduce the ratio of defective products; and a production system used for the method.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for producing patterned compound food products that can easily control the surface color patterns of the resulting food products to be substantially constant, and that can manufacture compound food products providing different tastes in one piece; and a production system used for the method.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method for producing patterned compound food products having an outer section with a pattern formed of at least two kinds of fluid food materials of different colors, and an inner section formed of a fluid filling material having a taste different from that of the outer section, said method comprising the steps of:
(A) pouring predetermined amounts of at least two kinds of fluid food materials of different colors for forming an outer section into a cavity of a mold to obtain a preshaped product in a substantially fluid state held in the shape of said cavity;
(B) inserting a nozzle into said preshaped product;
(C) injecting a predetermined amount of fluid filling material for forming an inner section through said nozzle into the preshaped product;
(D) drawing said nozzle out of said preshaped product; and
(E) solidifying, after step (D), at least said fluid food materials in the cavity.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a production system used for the above method for producing patterned compound food products having an outer section with a pattern formed of at least two kinds of fluid food materials of different colors, and an inner section formed of a fluid filling material having a taste different from that of the outer section, said system comprising:
a charging device for pouring predetermined amounts of at least two kinds of fluid food materials of different colors into a cavity of a mold;
an injecting device having a vertically movable nozzle for injecting a predetermined amount of fluid filling material through said nozzle;
a solidifying device for solidifying at least said fluid food materials in the cavity; and
a translating device for translating the mold from said charging device to said injecting device and then to said solidifying device.